TERA [dropped]

"Where am I?"

Amidst a sea of aqua blue, 8 billion human bodies gently sway with the current of the ocean.

"Who am I?"

My eyelids are sealed tightly, indicating my deep slumber. Yet I still faintly feel the lights, the shadows and temperature from above me… next to me… even below me… It was like we were all fetuses, brothers and sisters waiting patiently within our mother's womb, sheltered and nurtured with love.

"That's right. I'm John."

An extremely common name. One of the most common names on Earth actually.

A bright ray of light, in contrast to John's surroundings, landed somewhere in the back of his head.

"Am I facing downwards?" John thought as he sensed a patch of warmth, like sunlight.

Shards of memories began rising from the depths of his brain, matching and connecting gradually like a person completing a puzzle.

The joy washing over when two pieces matched reminded him of when he was a child —free and happy, just a tiny ball of innocence and purity.

However, an abrupt pain exploded within John's head and the puzzles that were close to completing were shattered back into pieces. It felt like a mean punch to his abdomen. He grimaced, reacting to the pain. It now felt like a grinder roughly peeling off his brain.

He heard faint crying, screaming and wailing from all around him. And he could not do anything about it.

He imagined the peaceful blue sea turning blood red, permeating violence and agonized people thrashing to endure the pain.

But in a flash, everything suddenly stopped.

That's when it all came back.

Not his life, not his family, but one specific segment of his memory.

The pain was still lingering. Yet, it was as if the immense pain was too insignificant to acknowledge. All that John could focus on was the screen before him. An enormous screen, secured into a tall metallic structure.

He wasn't the only one watching the screen. He could remember the hordes of people he was crammed in.

The compression. The mood. The smell.

The sheer number was a forest and he was just a piece of crumbling leaf, even a little thrust could permanently damage him.

Fortunately, all was good. Everyone stood still and organized. Thousands of eyes glued to the screen. John noticed an infant cradled in her mother's arms, some sort of liquid smeared on one side of her chubby cheek. Even she was quietly staring at the screen, her young soul influenced by the solemn atmosphere.

John turned his attention back onto the contents of the screen.

He would have believed he was watching a Hollywood action movie if it weren't for the tiny red word, 'Live', in the top left corner of the screen.

There were two men.

No.

One man and one monster. They were battling one another. In the sky.

The monster seemed to have the upper hand, his deranged body was covered in the blood of his opponent and green viscous blood that seemed to be his own.

One of its bulging eyeballs were dangling by a thread, a dagger filling up the empty, hollow eye socket. His anatomy was human-like, but his figure was not. The monster did not have a complete body of flesh, some parts of his flesh empty or dry.

It had head, arms and legs like a human, but built like a nightmare. Sharp bones poked out from his spine, exposed to the air.

Its fangs could tear anything John has ever come across in his life. And most noticeably, the extra limbs and human heads growing out of his body that were too, attacking the man.

The heads had soulless eyes, blurting out ooze that would burn its opponents shining armour.

John gasped. How inhumane! A human like him now an abomination.

The armour on the man no longer had its shine as the monster's arm chipped them off piece by piece.

The man was wielding a sword, blood stained and losing a limb. Whilst defending himself, he chanted something under his breath as a fiery piercing gleam escaped his weapon. With a wild slash, the blade entered the monster's flesh.

With the sword entering the monsters body, the man roared at the top of his lungs. The sword, set ablaze, slashed more into the flesh of the monster with ease while the monster threw a barrage of punches at the man, creating more dents into his armour.

John sensed the intensity around him, thousands of people holding their breathes as hope pervaded the air.

The flame imbued sword finally reached the monster's spine. It struck, creating a force so powerful that the broadcast trembled as if on the verge of breaking.

On the corner of the screen, John noticed that the broadcast lens must have cracked from the force. There was an uneven broken line on the live broadcast, taking away a quarter of the broadcasted fight.

It did not affect anyone's experience for long as the live broadcast crew soon switched to a different, undamaged camera angle.

Zoomed onto the two figures, John realized something. He could not even lock onto the monster's punches. They were too fast for him to perceive.

Despite so, the armored man, who clearly has a trail of coughed up blood sliding down the corner of his mouth, was still taking in those fury of punches, his bruised hand gripped tightly onto the handle of his sword.

Flicking his wrist with all his might, the spine of the monster cracked open where the sword touched.

John sensed more hope arise, dying the air. They did not only belong to the people around him, instead it came from many areas far away.

The flame imbued sword crept closer towards the center of the monster's spine as the man's armour finally reached its limit. Destroyed and shattered, it allowed the monster to land a direct hit on the man, who immediately coughed out a puddle of blood upon impact.

Although facing near death, the de-armored man did not budge as a flame spurted from his eyes. His cough of blood was intentionally directed towards the flame.

Like adding fuel to fire, the sword emitted a blinding light as the flame on the sword danced its way around the surface of the sword. With a sudden burst of speed, the sword had finally slashed halfway into the monster's spine!

It was like a heroes story we all read in fairytales, except more brutal. The armored hero would slay the monster and humanity will be saved.

But as if the universe was playing a trick on humans, everything fell apart in the next second.

A razor- sharp, bloody shard of unknown object exited the monster lungs between the gaps of rotting flesh. In the blink of an eye, the object penetrated the man's throat, flying out from the other end of his throat.

Hope in the atmosphere withered away as if a cold shower of iced water splashed across everyone's face.

What… How…

John watched in despair as the man's grip loosen. The light in his sword faded away, falling straight down, tinkling onto the cold, hard, scorched earth.

John could now see what was beneath now.

A never ending army of zombie-like monsters cover the earth like disgusting parasite. The grounds were scorched and damaged by weapons and explosions. Infrastructure were damaged and no humans were in sight, as if all were consumed by these horrendous monsters.

A blood tear slid down the man's eyes as the fatigue and hate in his eyes vanish into blankness. Soon, his entire head detached from his body, falling lifelessly onto the earth below him as a group of human-like creatures greedily formed a mountain over the body, devouring every trace of the man's existence.

John's vision blurred.

His vision was drowned in vengeful red.

"Kill the monsters!" He shouted painfully at the top of his lungs. The stress placed on his throat stung but he did not care.

"Kill the monsters!"

Few more sorrow filled yet furious voice sounded from the crowd. Following the voices, the atmosphere that used to be hopeful now turned vengeful.

The last thing John saw was himself running. Running towards the things he abhorred.

Diving into a battlefield of bloodthirsty monsters, the segment ended.

John woke up.

He somehow woke up. Again.